Ben Youngs and Dan Cole ‘fairytale' can be Leicester's inspiration
Danny Care believes the desire to secure fairytale farewells for Ben Youngs and Dan Cole can drive Leicester to Gallagher Premiership glory but insists title favourites Bath 'won't care about sentiments'.
Scrum-half Youngs, 35, and prop Cole, 38, will call time on their illustrious careers following Saturday's mouthwatering final at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
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Harlequins player Care – a long-term England team-mate of the pair – expects Michael Cheika's Tigers to harness the 'emotional energy' of the imminent retirements in an attempt to spring an upset.
'I do love a fairytale; I do believe sometimes things happen for a reason,' Care, who will be at Twickenham as a pundit for TNT Sports, told the PA news agency.
'Maybe there's something in the air that it was destined for Ben Youngs and Dan Cole to finish with another medal.
'Having said that, sport can be a very harsh beast and they're not going to just get given it.
'I'm sure Leicester will be piling into that emotional energy of sending these guys off on a high; the amount of love they've given to that club, both one-club men – it'd be pretty special to see that happen.
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'But sport can be quite cruel sometimes and Bath won't care about sentiments. They'll just want to get that trophy, which obviously evaded them last year.'
Table-topping Bath, who were runners-up to Northampton in last season's final and are chasing a first title since 1996, finished 11 points ahead of second-placed Leicester in the regular season.
Youngs – England's most-capped men's player, with 127 appearances – is seeking his sixth Premiership title while Cole, who represented his country 118 times, is bidding for a fifth.
'I think if you spoke to them at the start of the season, they'd have thought there would be no chance (of winning the Premiership),' said Quins scrum-half Care, another England centurion who is heading into retirement.
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'But I think Michael Cheika has come in and instilled this unbelievable belief in them that they can beat anyone and why not them this year?'
Head coach Cheika will also bid goodbye to Tigers this summer, to be replaced by Geoff Parling, in addition to Argentina hooker Julian Montoya, former England back Mike Brown and South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard.
Danny Care, right, played alongside Ben Youngs, left and Dan Cole, not pictured, for England (Adam Davy/PA)
Bath – coached by Johann van Graan – have already beaten 11-time Premiership champions Leicester twice this campaign: 20-15 in September at Mattioli Woods Welford Road and 43-15 in May at the Recreation Ground.
While there is an intriguing match-up at number 10 between two-time World Cup winner Pollard and Bath star Finn Russell, Care feels the power of Leicester's pack will be crucial.
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'Bath have been unbelievable all year, they've just found ways to overpower teams,' said the 38-year-old.
'They've just got an ability to grab momentum and really put their foot on your throats and get the wins.
'You could talk about the 10s: Pollard versus Russell, which is going to be huge. But for me the packs is going to be massive.
'If Leicester can stop Bath at source, go back to the old faithful, scrum well, then Leicester have got a few players that could cause them some problems.
'If they don't then it could be a tough day at the office. Anything can happen but I do have Bath as favourites.'
:: Watch the Premiership Rugby final live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ from 1.30pm on Saturday.
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